Dilemma

A devout monk is determined not to hurt any living creature. Before drinking, he will study a cup of water once and then study it again, and then study it a third time. After all, he wouldn't want to hurt even a tiny water bug. He will filter his water through a finely woven handkerchief to avoid harm to living beings he cannot see. This was the Buddha's instruction.

Through meditation, practice, and devotion, a certain monk developed his vision to an extraordinary degree that pierce through all layers of existence. He had a “divine eye.” When this monk used his divine eye to examine his drinking water for living creatures, he could see no water. Instead, he saw a cup filled with living beings.

This was a dilemma — if he saved the creatures in the water, he could die of thirst, and if he drank the water, he would hurt those beings. Confused, he went to see the Buddha and explained his problem. “If I follow your teaching, I can't drink the water I need to live. If I don’t, I will be hurting all these beings.”

The Buddha nodded and said, “Don't look that far. Drink the water.”

From Dezhung Rinpoche’s Discourse